Anindita Dey &Amp; Rajesh S Kurup In Mumbai

Stories by Anindita Dey &Amp; Rajesh S Kurup In Mumbai

Satellite piracy sends strong signals to India

Satellite piracy sends strong signals to India

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2009

A pirate can assemble a system -- including a dish, a receiver and a decorder (together called an STB) for as low as Rs 900-1,000. This, tuned into different frequencies, can steal signals of most of the DTH operators. According to IMI, which represents over 50 companies including big labels like Saregama, Tips, Venus and Sony Music, the music industry derives a substantial amount of their revenues from TV and Internet rights.

IBA calls meet with unions to preempt June 12 stir

IBA calls meet with unions to preempt June 12 stir

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2009

Officials said the IBA had three major agendas to discuss, the most important being to persuade the unions to accept the new pension scheme, otherwise known as the contributory pension scheme, for new bank employees. Currently, the bank unions are vehemently opposing it since unions of no other sector has accepted it to date.

Income tax dept to mail TDS details

Income tax dept to mail TDS details

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2009

According to official sources, complaints were received by the department that TDS was being collected arbitrarily by the payers. Another reason for this decision is that refunds from the department have also gone up. Sources said it should not affect the assessee who may be paying a high rate of TDS and is not compensated even after the employer or broking firm or any other organisation gets a refund on higher rate of TDS which may not be applicable to such income.

RCom, Alcatel-Lucent close to Rs 3,000-crore deal

RCom, Alcatel-Lucent close to Rs 3,000-crore deal

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2009

In what could be one of the largest outsourcing deals in the Indian telecom space, Reliance Communications is close to awarding a $500-600 million (Rs 2,500-3,000 crore) operations and maintenance contract to Foprench telecom infrastructure provider Alactel-Lucent.

Sebi readies plans to develop Indian bourses

Sebi readies plans to develop Indian bourses

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2009

Members of the Securities and Exchange Board of India have suggested a phased reduction of the securities transaction tax, as part of a package of measures to develop the capital markets that was discussed with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee last week.

Appraisals: Govt takes a cue from private sector

Appraisals: Govt takes a cue from private sector

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2009

Assessment reports will be shared with all employees

PE activity increases: Markets gain

PE activity increases: Markets gain

Rediff.com   5 Jun 2009

While a number of players invested more in Indian companies, another set exited the market, making profits after March. The companies that invested included Saif Partners, which made a $24 million investment in Network18, and Times Private Treaties, which acquired 12 per cent in Jiny & Jony (for an undisclosed sum), according to data with analysts and brokerage firms.

Sebi proposes to fund class action suits

Sebi proposes to fund class action suits

Rediff.com   1 Jun 2009

In the first move of its kind in the country, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has decided to finance investor associations that propose to fight collective suits - which resemble US or European-style class action suits - in Indian courts

Banks rework CDR terms

Banks rework CDR terms

Rediff.com   29 May 2009

The clauses on corporate debt restructuring (CDR) are being reworked in view of the huge foreign exchange exposure of several companies, which have already opted for restructuring debt or are on their way to seeking approval for one.

3 firms shortlisted for BSNL's Rs 30,000-cr deal

3 firms shortlisted for BSNL's Rs 30,000-cr deal

Rediff.com   14 May 2009

Three telecom companies - Spanco Telesystems and Solutions, TVS Interconnect Systems (a TVS group firm) and Acme Tele Power - have emerged as the front-runners for state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's (BSNL) Rs 30,000-crore infrastructure contract.

FinMin backs Sebi demand to access phone call data

FinMin backs Sebi demand to access phone call data

Rediff.com   13 May 2009

Move aimed at strengthening Sebi's powers to investigate market-related offences.

Airtel DTH, Big TV cut home movie rates

Airtel DTH, Big TV cut home movie rates

Rediff.com   11 May 2009

Watching movies on direct-to-home has become cheaper, with two major DTH operators, Airtel DTH and Big TV, slashing pay-per-view (PPV) prices of premiere (new) movies. While Airtel DTH has reduced prices of paid movie services by 33 per cent, Big TV has cut prices by around 50 per cent.

Indian firms may fall short of web addresses soon

Indian firms may fall short of web addresses soon

Rediff.com   7 May 2009

According to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority -- the body allocating IP addresses -- there were only 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses of which, 68 per cent have been already allocated and 13 per cent are unavailable due to technical issues. All IP4 addresses will run out by April 2010. This makes it necessary for users to move over to IPv6, or the next version that supports a total of 16 billion IP addresses.

Paramount to fly to 35 more cities

Paramount to fly to 35 more cities

Rediff.com   4 May 2009

The fully business-class airline is to commence services to 35 more cities, increasing its domestic routes to 50 by the end of 2010. Delhi is one of the new planned destinations, so are Imphal, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Bhopal, Nagpur, Porbander and other places in Gujarat. This is in addition to the earlier announced plans of launching services to Kolkata, Guwahati and Agartala, connecting these to the south Indian cities of Chennai, Coimbatore and Kochi.

GSM operators oppose 11-digit numbering

GSM operators oppose 11-digit numbering

Rediff.com   4 May 2009

GSM mobile service providers are opposing an 11-digit mobile numbering proposal on grounds that it would inconvenience the country's 390 million subscribers. They are also seeking to end the exclusive two-digit operator code provided to three service providers.

Telecom tariffs may fall 25% this year

Telecom tariffs may fall 25% this year

Rediff.com   4 May 2009

The mobile tariffs in the world's cheapest telecom market are set to fall further by at least 20-25 per cent during the year, more so due to increasing number of telecom operators and infrastructure overcapacity.

TCS drops plan to raise headcount in Australia

TCS drops plan to raise headcount in Australia

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2009

TCS had dropped plans to boost its headcount in Australia even though it recorded double-digit revenue growth, according to reports and blog posts from the country. The Tata group company employed around 950 people in Australia at the end of the previous year, but around 50 have since been relocated to India. This puts TCS' total employee base in that country at around 900, reports say.

RBI checks for surrogate holding in banks

RBI checks for surrogate holding in banks

Rediff.com   27 Apr 2009

Failed attempt to acquire stake in Kolhapur-based bank seen as trigger.

How music companies plan to curb piracy

How music companies plan to curb piracy

Rediff.com   27 Apr 2009

IMI is close to launching a programme - Music Mobile Exchange (MMX) - mainly to curb mobile chip piracy which refers to downloading music from the web or illegally copying it from cassettes or CDs and then transferring it to mobile phones.

DTH operators hiring staff as customers rise

DTH operators hiring staff as customers rise

Rediff.com   21 Apr 2009

At a time the industry is slashing headcount, citing the downturn, direct-to-home (DTH) television service providers are adding employees.